While Brazilians fans rejoiced, there were riots in Argentina as Germany won the World Cup, becoming the first European nation to ever win the tournament in South America. In the end,
Germany’s 1-0 overtime win against hated rival Argentina was consolation for the Brazilian people, who could hardly fathom the image of President Dilma Rousseff handing the World Cup
trophy to Argentina captain Lionel Messi after all they had endured with the national team.

"Germany has brought great happiness to the Brazilian people," Reutersquoted Pedro Cozzolimo, 27, a lawyer from Rio de Janeiro, as saying immediately after the final. "Thank you
Germany," he shouted.

Meanwhile, in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s failure prompted
scores of angry youths to vandalize the capital, hurling rocks, destroying storefronts and breaking into buildings. Police said 20 officers were injured and at least 60 people were arrested during the
riots.

The Washington Post’sTerrence McCoy wonders whether their angry response was a referendum on the state of Argentina’s economy. As McCoy notes, the Argentine
peso has already declined 20 percent this year, prompting fears of another meltdown. “It is impossible to separate politics from soccer,” McCoy writes. “Few countries needed a big
victory like Argentina.”